Why It Matters
We need a global food system that goes beyond sustainable to restore and regenerate, giving more to people and nature than it takes.
Giving back to the land
When we first began work on our land the soil was very poor — rock-hard and with sparse insect or microbial life. Now over 150 plant species thrive, providing food for us, fodder for our horses, habitat for abundant wildlife, foliage for beauty and shade, leaf fall to build soil, and interweaving roots to prevent erosion. Orange and turquoise lizards flash through the undergrowth. Hummingbirds nest in the lower branches of small fruit trees while hawks and eagles perch in the tall palms. The reappearance of apex (or top) predators like large birds signals that the entire food web is sound. There is a whole new sense of balance: predator to prey, insect to microbe, fungi to bacteria.
Our regenerated land isn't merely a bunch of trees; it's a developing ecosystem that will continue to improve with maturity every day.
Restoring the Chocó Andino Forest
Our work is particularly crucial here in the Chocó forest where conversion of forest to cattle pasture accounts for roughly 40 percent of degraded land. Cattle pastures are particularly problematic because when the tree canopy is stripped from the land, rain and sun hit the ground at full force. Normally the canopy softens the impact of rain and shades the ground. Exposed to driving tropical rain and hot sun, the soil becomes massively eroded and further compacted from the movement of the cattle. This degraded soil dries and cracks open in the dry season, oxidizing carbon. In the wet season, rains make a muddy slurry that washes away, taking any topsoil and manure into rivers and streams.
The health of the incredibly biodiverse Ecuador Chocó – and the people who live here – is also gravely threatened by monoculture farming of crops for export and mining activity.
One of our main objectives is to show our neighbors that a diversified farm can provide more nutritious foods for families and communities while also earning income and reducing (or eliminating) input costs.
Replenishing the earth
In addition to providing food, fodder, fiber, fuel, and natural fertilizer, agroforestry can restore, sustain, and enhance the health of an ecosystem (aka provide “ecosystem services”).
Trees, diverse plantings, and soil rich with organic matter are the most effective terrestrial carbon sink on the planet, critical to maintaining a climate suitable for life as we know it.
Rainforests produce about 20% of our oxygen and absorb massive amounts of solar radiation, helping regulate temperatures around the globe.
In the rainforest, every layer of vegetation provides habitat for a different spectrum of life. More varieties of plants means more niches for fungi, bacteria, insects, and animals. This vibrant variety is called biodiversity, and it's the most critical factor to an optimally functioning ecosystem.
Tropical rainforests don't only get a lot of rain; they make the rain. Billions of trees absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide, draw water from the soil, perform photosynthesis, and emit water vapor in a process called evapotranspiration. More than 50% of precipitation in the rainforest is returned to the atmosphere, helping regulate healthy rainfall around the planet.
Better livelihoods for farmers
Soil erosion is a major cause of land degradation and makes land less arable (farm-able) over time. The dense tree and plant cover in an agroforestry system protects soil from erosion by sheltering the ground with the canopy, holding soil with roots, and covering soil with leaf fall. Ground covered with vegetation absorbs, conserves, and creates moisture, lessening the need for irrigation and overall water usage.
As the system matures, complexity feeds synergistic relationships among plants, soil life, wildlife, and people – drastically reducing or eliminating the need for costly irrigation, fertilizers or pesticides.
Over time, agroforestry systems produce more and cost less, enhancing the livelihood of farmers.
